Having a Porsche Carrera 911, a Chrysler 300, a Chevrolet Corvette, a Jaguar C-Type, a Lotus Europa or a Pontiac Firebird in the garage is a luxury that very few can afford. However, there are people who own not just one but all of the above: miniature car collectors. This hobby is currently growing the world over and there are some collectors who are prepared to spend a small fortune to buy certain models for their collection. The money paid out for these miniature cars often reaches figures that can be compared to the price of the genuine, larger-scale, variety.

Classifying the collectors
Miniature car collecting is made up of a number of specialities that are often linked. A more or less accurate description of the several different categories follows:

- Static miniature cars (purely decorative models) and those automobiles that have been prepared to race, both on well known tracks, on slots (electric circuits, such as the popular Scalextrix), and on tarmac circuits using radio control.

- Those that prefer to buy their models (both static and mobile) in specialised stores, on the internet, in supermarkets or in toy shops.

- Those who choose to build their own miniature cars (automodelling). These people are genuine craftsmen who spend much of their free time painstakingly constructing models that later become true works of art, both in static or mobile form.

Logically, within each of these groups there can be found other categories according to the taste of the collector: classic cars, different sizes of scale, those cars belonging to a certain era, maker, or year, different varieties of the same model over the years, and so on.

Although automodelling has a large number of followers, the vast majority of collectors prefer to buy their models already built. Given the amounts these enthusiasts spend, it is no surprise to find a number of companies specialised in producing miniature cars.

In Spain, for example, one of the most prominent firms is the Alicante-based Fly Car Model. The company has been producing exact small-scale replicas of racing cars since the mid-1990s. Using the most advanced reproduction techniques, this firm's models duplicate even the most insignificant details of their big brothers, both inside and out, including fully-functioning headlights and the same advertising that each car carries on the racing track.

Clearly these models are very much in demand. An anonymous bidder recently paid 9,300 euros for one of 400 limited edition Chrysler models. Only very few can afford these replicas, but their popularity is evidence of the enthusiasm that miniature car collecting can summon.

A playful origin
There is no definitive explanation of the origin of miniature car collecting. One of the most accepted versions harks back to 1950s England, where Fred Francis, the owner of a small toy company called Minimodels, had the idea of producing miniature cars based on the models that were then competing in races (Maserati and Autouni�n for example).

These cars were made of metal, contained an impressive number of details and were built in many different scales to the point that each model car was built to a unique scale. This is why Mr. Francis came up with the term Scalex (scale+x, as in scale unknown). He later motorised some models by first using a simple rope mechanism that could be revved up by moving the rear wheels, and subsequently moving on to electric motors. In this way Scalextrix (scale+electric) was born.